worship of human beings

[Guest guest]

Thu, 26 Jun 2003 20:24:59 +0200

"Alexandra Kafka" <alexandra.kafka

Subject:

 

Every human is an incarnation of God, right?

So can one reach enlightenment by worshipping any ordinary person as

god/goddess?

Does that only work with Avatars, or certain spiritual advanced persons like

ones Guru?

Or does that also work with commpletely ordinary persons?

For instance Indian women in erlier times regarded their husbands as gods, and

then there is also the worship of Devi in form of virginal girls.

 

 

Most Dear Spirit Soul ( Alexandra.Kafka )

 

There is a big difference in an incarnation of God and the Transmigration of the

Soul. The fact that Lord Krsna says he is the Paramatma does not put us on an

equal level to his potencies.

 

Lord Krsna performed many superhuman feats unlike us ordinary humans. Too many

to mention. You compare for yourself.

 

The Bagavad Gita requests as Lord Krsna has instructed Arjuna to worship Sri

Krsna. Man Mana Mad Bhaktu, ,mam namaskru ...etc. Arjuna calls Lord Krsna " Sri

Bagavan ". No where does it mention the worship of humans but it does require

respect and honour for Guru who is a human as good as that one would offer to

Sri Krsna.

 

 

But we can only reach Sri Krsna by an empowered master. That master is GURU and

may be human or Lord Krsna himself as Chaita Guru and also sastra.

 

Worshipping ordinary people like your manager and Pop stars etc will not

alleviate the pangs of this material world. You may get some short term material

benefit but then after death the soul takes on a new body and the same process

all over again.

 

It is true when a man and wife marry they are given by Krsna's mercy the respect

of Lord Vishnu and Sita Devi but only on that wedding day. Then all hell brings

loose. Problems and Problems so yes respect the paramatma that is within a

living entity.

 

All Glories to Srila Prabhupada.

 

Humbly yours

 

Rakesh Manohar

 

 

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[Guest guest]

On Fri, 27 Jun 2003, Eric Bott wrote:

>>>>> Actually, it is stated that the living entity's relationship to God is

like that of a drop of water to the ocean - the drop of water is qualitatively

equal to the ocean but quantitatively different. The material portion of this

analogy is demonstratable. For example, a marine chemist may obtain a sample of

water from a bay or ocean and chemically analyze its various properties; there

are so many different chemical relationships within water. The relationships

within the sample are proportionally equal to the relationships found in the

larger ocean though they are present in minute quantitiy whereas within the

ocean they are present in unlimited quantities. >>>>>

 

This is similar to the logic of testing one grain of rice to see if the whole

pot is cooked. However, because Lord Krsna is unique, it isn't entirely

applicable to Him; in Krsna's case, quantity determines quality. Technically

speaking, we living entities may have many of Krsna's qualities, while lord Siva

has some more of them, but even the Personality of Godhead Vishnu doesn't have

them all. That's one reason Gaudiya Vaisnavas prefer to worship Krsna. This is

discussed further in the nectar of Devotion and elsewhere.

 

 

 

 

>>>>>Similarly, though mankind is made in the image of God he is not "God"

Himself. Like the drops of water, we are considered to be qualitatively equal

to God but, when we compare ourselves to God as when the drops of water are

compared to the ocean itself, our quantitative insignificance becomes realized.

By understanding our comparitive relationship with God through this analogy, we

can avoid our common misconception of thinking that each living entity is a

manifestion of God Himself and that understanding's logical conclusion that if

every living entity is God than by worshiping any living entity is equal to

worshiping God. The drop of water is not the ocean, and we are not God.>>>>>

 

Even though Krsna says that He is everything (cf. Gita 7.19, etc.), not

everything is Krsna (cf. Gita 9.1-6). There are many and varied forms of the

Lord, and different *kinds* of forms of the Lord, or "manifestations" (these are

mentioned in Gita 10, also explained in teachings of Lord Caitanya chapters 6

and 7, etc.). Their worship (or non-worship) is established in corresponding

traditional and scriptural norms. Practically, though, pure Vaisnavas don't

emphasize the qualitative oneness of the jivas with Krsna, in light of the

jivas' perennial tendency to misconstrue it.

 

MDd

[Guest guest]

On Thu, 26 Jun 2003, Alexandra Kafka wrote:

 

> Every human is an incarnation of God, right?

 

No.

 

 

> So can one reach enlightenment by worshipping any ordinary person as

god/goddess?

 

No.

 

 

> Does that only work with Avatars, or certain spiritual advanced persons like

ones Guru?

 

Yes, if they are factually so.

 

 

> Or does that also work with commpletely ordinary persons?

 

No.

 

 

> For instance Indian women in erlier times regarded their husbands as gods, and

then there is also the worship of Devi in form of virginal girls.

 

Yes, but a qualified husband, king, guest, parents, gurujanas, and other

authorities are so respected only because they represent God, not that they are

God. "As God" means "like God," or in other words, comparable to God, as His

representative. They aren't all the Supreme Personality of Godhead Krishna.

Practically, also, there are greater or lesser degrees of worship enjoined for

each of them, depending on the manner and extent of such representation.

 

MDd